This week, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced a leadership change in his Administration’s COVID-19 response team. White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients will be stepping down from his role after serving the Administration for the past 14 months. President Biden applauded the work and expertise of Zients, coordinating strategies and infrastructure to deliver…
Read More »This week, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna each announced they have formally requested authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for booster doses of their COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. On Tuesday, Pfizer-BioNTech submitted a request to the FDA for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for an additional booster dose for adults 65 and older who…
Read More »The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently issued a fact sheet on the federal government’s COVID-19 Test-to-Treat initiative. Recall, the U.S. Government unveiled the initiative to promote rapid access to free treatment for COVID-19. Beginning March 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) began distributing oral antivirals Paxlovid and Molnupiravir directly…
Read More »The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week launched its 2022 State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial (STLT) Mental Health Survey to understand and address the mental health impacts and support needs of frontline public health workers. The survey is an anonymous, self-administered, online questionnaire that covers questions addressing symptoms of anxiety, depression,…
Read More »The most recent findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report indicate decreases in the use of commercial tobacco products overall, combustible tobacco products, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and two or more tobacco products among U.S. adults from 2019 to 2020. Despite these decreases, however, nearly one in five…
Read More »The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host a virtual public workshop on Tuesday, March 29 from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm to discuss critical questions around access to naloxone. The workshop is a collaboration with the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA. The workshop will provide an in-depth discussion to review the current landscape…
Read More »The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), recently announced two new grant programs totaling $25.6 million to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and prevent the misuse of prescription drugs. The funding opportunities reflect priorities of the HHS Overdose Prevention…
Read More »The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced three funding opportunities to strengthen mental health and substance use services for individuals at risk for or living with HIV/AIDS. The funding, totaling $43.7 million, is being deployed to help underserved communities and aligns with…
Read More »This week, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) launched a new website dedicated to the 9-8-8 suicide and crisis lifeline. The new website is designed to serve as a one-stop-shop for all 9-8-8 resources from SAMHSA. The website hosts a 9-8-8 partner toolkit, key communications resources, frequently asked questions, and other…
Read More »The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) this week released its annual report entitled, “Ready or Not 2022: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism,” evaluating states’ performance on 10 key emergency preparedness indicators and identifying gaps in states’ readiness to respond to emergencies. The report calls for urgent investment to create a public…
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